1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to cooking apparatus and, more particularly, to a novel portable barbecue having a cooking meat supporting means incorporating a channeled collector for cooking juices and fats and for conducting the same to a collector pan for disposal. All of the above reside in an enclosure having a fire bed and a chimney.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
In the past, it has been the conventional practice to place meat and other food products on a flat grill composed of parallel spaced apart rods or bars so that the fats, greases or juices will drip onto the underlying coal bead. Generally, this is done to create a slight smoke or vapor which will penetrate into the meat for enhancing its taste and flavor. However, such a practice tends to produce thick and heavy smoke as well as frequent outbursts of uncontrollable flames. The person using the cooking apparatus is often inadvertently affected by the smoke and flames to the point of illness and/or injury. It is also thought that the by-products of such processes are highly carcinogenic or cancer-causing. Additionally, the process is smelly and makes a mess of all of the implements used in the cooking procedure. The grill and utensils are coated with burned grease and soot which requires difficulty in the removal procedure.
Therefore, a long standing need has existed to provide a barbecue cooking apparatus which promotes the collection and removal of undesired meat drippings or the like.